Sons were born to David in Hebron. His firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
Show the surrounding paragraph
2 Samuel 3:2-5 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Now there was long war between Saul’s house and David’s house. David grew stronger and stronger, but Saul’s house grew weaker and weaker. Sons were born to David in Hebron. His firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
Parallel Translations
-
Sons were born to David in Hebron. His firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
-
And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
Show all 3 translations
-
And unto David were sons born in Hebron; and his first-born was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;
and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;
and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (19)
- 1 Samuel 27:8 (v3) David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for those were the inhabitants of the land, who were…
- 1 Chronicles 3:1-4 (v2) Now these were the sons of David, who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, of…
- 1 Chronicles 3:1 (v3) Now these were the sons of David, who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, of…
- Genesis 49:3-4 (v2) “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; excelling in dignity, and excelling in power. Boiling over like…
- Deuteronomy 3:14 (v3) Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called them, even Bashan,…
Show all 19 cross-references
- Joshua 13:13 (v3) Nevertheless the children of Israel didn’t drive out the Geshurites, nor the Maacathites: but Geshur and Maacath live within Israel to this…
- 1 Samuel 25:3 (v3) Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail. This woman was intelligent and had a beautiful face; but the man was…
- 1 Samuel 25:42 (v3) Abigail hurried, and arose, and rode on a donkey, with five ladies of hers who followed her; and she went after the messengers of David,…
- 1 Samuel 25:42-43 (v2) Abigail hurried, and arose, and rode on a donkey, with five ladies of hers who followed her; and she went after the messengers of David,…
- 2 Samuel 2:2 (v3) So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
- 2 Samuel 13:1-29 (v2) After this, Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. Amnon was so…
- 2 Samuel 13:20-28 (v3) Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother. Don’t take…
- 2 Samuel 13:37-38 (v3) But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai the son of Ammihur, king of Geshur. David mourned for his son every day. So Absalom fled, and went to…
- 1 Kings 1:5-18 (v4) Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” Then he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to…
- 1 Kings 2:13-25 (v4) Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. She said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably. He said…
- 2 Samuel 14:24–15:18 (v3) The king said, “Let him return to his own house, but let him not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, and didn’t see the…
- 2 Samuel 17:1-14 (v3) Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me now choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David tonight. I will come…
- 2 Samuel 18:9-18 (v3) Absalom happened to meet David’s servants. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his…
- 2 Samuel 18:33 (v3) The king was much moved, and went up to the room over the gate, and wept. As he went, he said, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3, 5 Who is called also Daniel, 1 Chron. 3:1.
Who is called also Daniel, 1 Chron. 3:1.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–5 2Sa 3:2 And unto David were sons born in…
2Sa 3:2 And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
Ver. 2. And unto David were sons born in Hebron.] None born during his exile: a sweet providence.
Read full note →
And his firstborn was Amnon.] Who was none of the best; as was neither Absalom, Adoniah, &c. Heroum filii noxae. The white halcyons hatch black young ones.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3, 5 Chileab, called also Daniel, 1Ch 3:1.
Chileab, called also Daniel, 1Ch 3:1.
Geshur; a part of Syria, northward from the land of Israel, Deu 3:14; Jos 12:5. See 2Sa 13:37; 14:23; 15:8. Her he married, as it may seem, in policy, that he might have a powerful friend and ally to assist him against Ish-bosheth’s party in the north, whilst himself opposed him in the southern parts. But he paid dear for making piety give place to policy herein, as the history of Absalom showeth. There were other Geshurites southward from Canaan, whom David invaded, 1Sa 27:8, and it is not impossible but they were a colony of those in the north.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–5 And unto David were sons born in Hebron,.... He…
And unto David were sons born in Hebron,.... He was married before he came there, had wives in his state of exile, but had no children by them there, at least no sons; if any, only daughters:
and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; who being mentioned first, and her son his firstborn, seems to have been his wife before be took Abigail; he had not much comfort of this firstborn son of his; see Sa2 13:1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3, 5 Geshur - A part of Syria, northward from the…
Geshur - A part of Syria, northward from the land of Israel. Her he married, as it may seem, in policy, that he might have a powerful friend and ally to assist him against Ishbosheth's party in the north, whilst himself opposed him in the southern parts. But he paid dear for making piety give place to policy, as the history of Absolom sheweth.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 5 2Sa 3:2-3. Unto David sons were born of Ahinoam…
2Sa 3:2-3. Unto David sons were born of Ahinoam — He had no children, it seems, by this wife during his exile; or if he had, they were daughters. The daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur — A part of Syria, northward from the land of Israel. How David came by this wife it is not easy to say. Perhaps he married her out of policy, that he might have a powerful friend and ally in her father, to assist him against Ish-bosheth’s party in the north, while himself opposed them in the south. But if so, he paid dear for making piety give place to policy, as the history of Absalom, whom he had by her, shows.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Chileab - In the duplicate passage (see the margin.)…
Chileab - In the duplicate passage (see the margin.) David’s second son is called Daniel (God is my judge), a name given to him in commemoration of the death of Nabal 1Sa 25:39. Chileab seems to be made up of the three first letters of the following Hebrew word, through an error of the transcriber, and intended to be erased.
Talmai king of Geshur - Talmai was the name of one of the sons of Anak at Hebron Num 13:22; this Talmai was perhaps of the same race.
Read full note →
Geshur - Where he reigned was in Bashan, and we know from Deu 3:11, that Og, king of Bashan, was of the “remnant of the giants.” See 1Sa 27:8 note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2–5 Amnon, who was murdered by Absalom, for his incest,…
Amnon, who was murdered by Absalom, for his incest, chap. xiii. 32. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5 unto David were sons born in Hebron--The six sons…
unto David were sons born in Hebron--The six sons mentioned had all different mothers.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2–3 2. Unto David were sons born — This was…
2. Unto David were sons born — This was one important way in which the house of David was made stronger, and to show this is manifestly the purpose of the writer in introducing here this list of David’s sons. Compare the list in 1Ch_3:1-4.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–5 3. Chileab] Called in Chron. Daniel, the meaning of…
3. Chileab] Called in Chron. Daniel, the meaning of which name, “God is my judge,” suggests that it may have been given him to commemorate God’s judgment upon Nabal (1Sa_25:39; cp. Gen_30:6). Some suppose that he bore both names, but the Sept. reading here Daluiah (Δαλουΐα), and the identity of the last three letters of Chileab in the Hebrew with the first three of the following word, make it extremely probable that the text of Samuel is corrupt.
Absalom] Whose name, “Father of Peace,” was belied by his conduct, the gloomy history of which occupies chaps. 13–18 of this book.
Read full note →
Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur] This marriage with a foreign princess, which was contrary to the spirit of the law (Exo_34:16; Deu_7:3; Jos_23:12), and bore such bitter fruit, may have been prompted by political reasons, especially the desirability of securing an ally in the neighbourhood of Ish-bosheth’s capital. Talmai’s kingdom was a part of Aram or Syria (ch. 2Sa_15:8), adjoining the province of Argob in the north-east of Bashan (Deu_3:14): probably in the wild and rocky region now called El-Lejah. As Talmai was the name of one of the giant “sons of Anak” who were expelled from Hebron by Caleb (Jos_15:14), and as Geshur was close to the kingdom of Og, who was of the remnant of the giants, it is tempting to conjecture that there may have been some connexion between the families, which would account for David’s marrying the daughter of the king of Geshur while resident at Hebron.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v2 (2-5) And unto David.—The list of David’s sons born…
(2-5) And unto David.—The list of David’s sons born during his seven and a half years’ reign in Hebron rather interrupts the continuity of the narrative, but is quite in accordance with the habit of the sacred historians to insert at the beginning or at some turning point in each reign statistics about the house or family of the king. (See 1Sa_14:49-51; 2Sa_5:13; 1Ki_3:1; 1Ki_14:21; 1Ki_15:2; 1Ki_15:9, &c.)
Amnon.—Written “Aminon” in 2Sa_13:20. His great crime and miserable end are related in 2 Samuel 13.
Read full note →
Chileab.—Called “Daniel” in 1Ch_3:1. None of the attempts to explain these as two forms of the same name have been successful. Either, therefore, “Chileab” is an error of the scribe (all but the first letter being the same as the first three letters of the following word), or, more probably, Chileab had a double name. Nothing further is known of him, and as he does not appear in the subsequent troubles, it is supposed that he died early. These two sons were born of the wives whom David had taken while an outlaw.
Absalom.—His history, rebellion, and death are narrated in 2 Samuel 13-18. His mother was “the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur,” a petty province north-east of Bashan. How David was brought into connection with him, and whether this alliance had any political object or not, we are not told, but the fact that Absalom in his exile naturally sought refuge with his maternal grandmother (2Sa_13:37) may have had a connection with David’s subsequent campaigns in that region.
Adonijah.—After the death of his three elder brothers, Adonijah considered himself the rightful heir to the throne, and embittered the last days of his father by a rebellion (1 Kings 1). He was at last put to death by Solomon (1Ki_2:25).
Of the other two sons, Shephatiah and Ithream, and of the mothers of the last three, nothing is known, although there is an absurd Jewish tradition that “Eglah” was another name for “Michal.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–3 Unto David were sons born. This increase of his…
Unto David were sons born. This increase of his wives is mentioned as a proof of David"s prosperity. For though contrary to the, (Deu_17:17) it was yet looked upon as part of the state of a king, and as such had been practised by Gideon, (Jud_1:8:30) who approached more nearly to the royal dignity than any other of the judges. But it is the rule of the Books of Samuel that they generally abstain alike from praise and "blame, and allow facts to speak for themselves. But never did a history more clearly deserve the title of "A Vindication of the Justice of God." Alike in Eli, in Saul, and in David, their sufferings were the result of their sins, and to the polygamy and lust of the last are due both the crimes which stained his character and the distress of the last twenty years of his life. (For Amnon, his first born, see ch. 13.)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2, 4 Sons were born to David
Sons were born to David
This can be stated in active form. AT: "David's wives gave birth to six sons" (See: Active or Passive)
Read full note →
firstborn ... second son ... third
This is the numerical order of David's sons. (See: Numbers)
Ahinoam ... Abigail ... Maacah
These are women's names. They are the wives of David. (See: How to Translate Names)
Kileab ... Nabal ... Talmai
These are men's names. (See: How to Translate Names)
translationWords
son
Hebron
firstborn
Amnon
Jezreel
Carmel
Absalom
king
Geshur
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2–3 3:2-5 One way David “became stronger and stronger” (3:1)…
3:2-5 One way David “became stronger and stronger” (3:1) was by taking more wives and having a son through each. Three of David’s Hebron-born sons died violent deaths, two during David’s reign (Amnon, Absalom), and one shortly after his death (Adonijah).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.